


Bus Stop

by Locahontas



Category: None - Fandom
Genre: Columbia - Freeform, F/M, Falling In Love, First Love, Friendship/Love, Love, Teen Crush, Teen Romance, Teen Years, Teenagers, teenage love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 15:22:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21412366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Locahontas/pseuds/Locahontas
Summary: A teenage love story based on my own experience. Just a simple first love.
Relationships: BOY - Relationship, girl - Relationship, teenager - Relationship





	Bus Stop

Ring Ring

The house phone rings. I'm thirteen; not yet do everybody has a cellphone attached to their fingers. The time where you call a house phone and talk to your crush's family and ask for them. It's embarrassing as a teen and the bravest thing you are doing at the time.

Ring Ring 

My mom reads the Caller ID to see the name, Gonzales. The only person who gets calls from the name Gonzales is me. This is where the embarrassment begins. It's my first girlfriend. Not the crush from elementary school. It's the girl I kiss occasionally. The girl who can't stop thinking about me at every minute of her awaken time. The girl I think about as well.

"Gon-ZAA-Lesss is calling!" she yells out to mock the fact that her baby boy is dating. She finds it hilarious. The girl, who has her son's heart, calls once a day. She calls. When my mom or anyone but me answers, she quickly hangs up with fear. 

She is a shy fourteen years old immigrant girl from Columbia. I know her as Xena which is the name she chose to go by. Her real name was something she did not ever tell me. English was her second language so she had a small vocabulary. Her family left Columbia after her eldest brother graduated from school. They move to the US to get him in an American college and eventually his two sisters, one being Xena, and the other brother who has one more year of high school.

So as soon as I hear my mom tease me with her mocking way of pronouncing every syllable in, "Gon-Za-Les", I know Xena is headed for the spot I meet her every day. Xena was not supposed to be dating at this age. Her father wanted her to do good in school and become something more. Xena was the rebellious type who ran off to meet me at the covered bus stop. 

Now we lived on opposite sides of the same street just five houses down from each other. She passes in front of my house to get to our bus stop. I would see her walking in front of my house with a quick paste. Not to dare look over and get caught by someone in my family. She was private like that. She lived within her small space and did not allow many people in.

It was right about two hours after school let out, so maybe five or six o'clock. We have about 90 minutes to hang out before she needs to be home before dark fall. So I would still have my uniform slacks and white undershirt on. She would be dressed in her all-girl school jumper and a light jacket. I would quickly spray on some deodorant, drink mouthwash because at that time I did not know you weren't supposed to, get my oversized hoodie, and run out of the door and head left to the bus stop. I run for the first two blocks crossing one side street to get to the main street where the buses pass. Take another left where I slow down to walk over to the bus stop where she was sitting. 

She always greeted me with a kiss on each side of my face and a tight hug. A hug where I could smell her candy-like perfume. A strawberry kiwi scent that is left on my hoodie hours after. She then would grab my hand and get me to sit next to her. She has always been fascinated by the celebrity gossip magazines. Who's dating who, who broke up and who's having a baby. That's how we spend our time. We would go through a magazine. She tried to explain every page in her limited vocabulary. If she did not know a word, she asked for the pronunciation and definition. I would be in her small space. The more we read about these celebrities, the better our conversations got.

We would start comparing ourselves to the celebrities we admire. I found out I was more into the interesting lifestyles. I wanted big houses, cars, and exotic trips. Xena was all about their looks. She wanted their clothes, hairstyles, and looks. She felt insecure about her looks. Being from Columbia, she admired America girls. She was taught through these magazines and entertainment that Americans are all beautiful people. Americans have different cultures from her country of Columbia. In her eyes, Colombians are all the same.

I was a linky tall kid still trying to find a way to use this weird teenage boy body I was growing in. I started to get some shadow on my upper lip. I was half black, half Mexican. I look Hispanic so Xena first time talking to me was in Spanish. She was amazed that I didn't speak any Spanish. Everyone who looked like me she met did. I was the American boy she wanted in Columbia.

She was a petite girl with strong legs. She would tell me she played fútbol or soccer in my Americanize terms. I remember when she moved in. You know when you get new neighbors everyone wants to see who was moving to our street but more importantly our block. She had long brunette hair. I remember she was new and my friends right away tried to make claims. We could not control our teenage hormones back then. It was just as new. I remember seeing the two older brothers carrying in dressers and beds. I was in no way going to challenge them for their sister. I found her to be highly attractive. However, I knew my chances were slim and I was going to avoid the threat I felt.

She made the first pass, in Spanish. We were walking on opposite sides of the street to the bus stop one day. I was going by a friend in that direction. While she was going to just sit there to get away from her family. I remember her saying, "Hey..." and that's all I could understand. She said something again and I told her I don't speak Spanish. That surprised her. Her interest sparked up as well. I crossed over to her side of the street. She quickly waved me off and said stay on my side. I was confused. She quickly said that her father would be angry seeing us next to each other. We got to the main street and she then waved me over to her. 

Standing next to her, I got nervous from seeing the beauty that she was. The heavy accent just made the experience different. The next two questions nearly floored this poor teenage kid who by this point had zero experience with girls. "Hey, I'm Xena. What's your name and do you have a girlfriend?" 

I almost forgot how to breathe for a second. I just smiled the biggest smile of my life to that point. I answered them in reverse order. "No, I'm Carlos." That sounded as bad as you read it. But I made sure she knew I was single. She smiled and nodded in agreement. She asked me where I was headed. I never made it to my friend's house. I sat at that bus stop for our first time. It was the first date for me. I was sprung from that point on. She let me write my number on the cover of the magazine she was holding. She called the next day and the next for three months.

We faded off like all teenage relationships. I realized now that our friendship will be remembered forever in my life. I introduced her to America and the lifestyle. She expanded my small world. I would go on with a confidence boost. I knew how to listen and hold conversations with a girl. She said hi to me every once in a while. For the next few years, we grew up into our high school lives. She was allowed to date and shared stories of who she was with. We talked about high school and less about celebrities. I appreciate it all today. Xena still holds that special place in my life.


End file.
